casella

Granite State Landfill LLC is suing the state’s Department of Environmental Services over their decision to deny a permit. Regulators said the permit application was incomplete for more than a year.

The Army Corps of Engineers has powers of approval over the Dalton, New Hampshire, landfill project proposed by Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems.

At a public hearing Monday, not one attendee voiced agreement with the environmental agency’s proposed rule changes.

The state’s Waste Management Council previously said regulators acted unlawfully in approving the expansion.

The point of contact for the assistance program, Pamela Kathan, is running for state office in a special election for former Rep. Troy Merner’s seat, following his resignation. This is the second year the company has offered assistance.

Casella Waste Systems submitted new permit applications for a landfill in Dalton, but a lawyer for the North Country Alliance for Balanced Change says the state should wait until court cases are resolved and new waste rules are adopted before reviewing applications.

The new proposal cuts the landfill’s size in half, but still maintains the location next to Forest Lake State Park.

Lawyers for the landfill company Casella have dropped the subpoenas, after the newspaper fought them.

Ahead of the final vote on the bill, emails between an attorney affiliated with Casella Waste Management and a state regulator came to light, showing the company’s involvement in drafting the legislation’s language.

Voters in Dalton rejected an effort to abolish the town’s conservation commission and planning board this week, the latest chapter in a years-long debate over the landfill.